Thesis title: PUNITIVE DAMAGES: O MEGLIO, RISARCIMENTI PEDAGOGICI. FUNZIONI, ASPETTI MORALI, IMPLICAZIONI PRATICHE, OPPORTUNITÀ.
The research was developed using a comparative method that combines the analysis of functions, moral values, and foreign experiences, ultimately proposing a concrete model for quantifying punitive damages.
After a brief reconstructive introduction and a preliminary overview of the comparative method adopted, the first chapter of the work draws on the US experience, which essentially served as the original laboratory for the development of the institution. In this context, the analysis focuses on reconstructing the functions—educational, equitable, deterrent, retributive, law enforcement—and, in particular, on the “concrete reason” for the phenomenon: namely, to ensure an adequate and proportionate civil legal response.
In the second chapter, the analysis then shifts from the functional level to that of moral values – freedom, utility, power, trust, resilience – which have fueled the debate and justify its existence. Punitive damages thus emerge as a legal construct imbued with ethical and social meanings, rather than as a mere punitive tool: an authentic mirror of the relationship between law and society, capable of serving both as a tool for individual accountability and as a vehicle for collective deterrence. The phenomenon thus reveals an ethical and cultural fabric rooted in moral and political philosophy, but which also grapples with the dynamics of social legitimization of law and the system's ability to build collective trust.
Starting from these foundations, the thesis proceeds in the third chapter with a comparative helicopter view that examines Europe, Latin America, and Asia in order to identify convergences, resistances, and autonomous trajectories. In the European experience, it can be observed that pedagogical compensation is viewed with caution, often filtered by the principle of proportionality and the centrality of the compensatory function. In Latin America, on the other hand, the reception has been more dynamic, with creative adaptations that reflect sensitivity to fundamental rights and social justice. Finally, in the Asian context, hybrid models emerge, in which elements of accountability and deterrence are intertwined with preventive and educational purposes, giving rise to original solutions.
This comparative perspective highlights how pedagogical compensation is not a monolithic reality, but a plural and adaptable phenomenon, capable of taking different forms based on the values, legal traditions, and social priorities of individual legal systems.
The research culminates in the fourth chapter with a study dedicated to the age-old issue of quantification, traditionally the most controversial aspect of pedagogical compensation.
After highlighting the risks and critical issues, the thesis proposes an operational model based on clear and verifiable parameters: the seriousness of the conduct, the economic capacity of the perpetrator, the value of the damaged asset, and any repeat offenses. These criteria aim to combine proportionality and predictability without betraying civil law's vocation to guarantee certainty and systematic consistency.
The conclusions summarize this journey, showing how punitive damages can be reinterpreted as genuine pedagogical compensation. From this perspective, they are a tool of theoretical and substantive justice, capable of strengthening the protection of fundamental rights, making civil liability more effective, and promoting a law that is not limited to compensation but also knows how to prevent, educate, and guide social behavior. The proposed approach, combining comparison and systematic reconstruction, thus aims to offer an innovative and coherent model capable of combining civil law tradition with the new demands for justice typical of the contemporary context.